Nightingale and Eagle (Quest 4); The Sacrifice

As an old thief, Nightingale could certainly appreciate where she and Eagle were entering.  The whole structure, a grand pyramid a few stories high, appeared to be made of nothing but gold.  It also had the appearance and smell of age, as if it hadn’t been disturbed in many years, maybe even as long as Nightingale had been alive.

As they walked into the front, she noticed several things.  First was all the ancient writings that Eagle stopped at. “Warnings not to enter.  Something strange, something strong, waiting inside.”

They walked into an antechamber of sorts and Nightingale noticed something. “That’s an awful lot of jewelry and gemstones.”

Eagle looked at them knowingly. “Yes, they’re supposed to be a distraction.  What we want is a little further on.”

As soon as they entered the main chamber, Nightingale felt ill.  Something in here pushed at her, pushing her back, trying to keep her from going on.

The room was very high, also seemingly made of gold.  In the middle sat what appeared to be a throne, facing away from them.  Eagle took her hand, leading her around.

On the throne, pulsing with an eerie green and orange light, mottling around, sat a sphere, about three feet wide.  It gave off a strange glow.  Eagle paused, looking at it, as she fought the urge to run. “The phoenix orb.  Of course.  It has to be the phoenix orb.”

Nightingale remembered the basics of the phoenix orb, one of the dragon relics that, if activated, would cause warriors to rise from the dead and attack the enemies of whoever activated it. “I thought it was supposed to be inactive.”

Eagle sighed, unable to take his eyes off the relic. “When someone uses it, yes, they’re supposed to deactivated it, or else the dead keep rising.”

Nightingale had to ask who did this, but Eagle didn’t know.  Still, she felt ill, felt like running. “How are we supposed to deactivate it?”

Eagle tried to remember, but there wasn’t anything.  Still, an idea hit her. “Let me see something.”

She fought the urge to jerk away as she raised her hand.  Eagle grabbed it back. “Hold on, we don’t know what it’ll do to you.”

Nightingale struggled for a moment. “That’s the reason I’m doing it.  If something does happen, it’ll only be a couple of days.”

Eagle let her hand go as she reached up and gently touched it.

As soon as she did so, all the colors seemed to run from where she touched it, as if burned.  Eagle touched it as well, but the result wasn’t the same.

Nightingale remembered what KJ said about immortal blood and wondered if that might be the cause.  There was only one way to test it.  She drew her dagger, slicing her hand open with a grunt.

As she placed the bloody hand on the orb, they heard what sounded like bloodcurdling screams coming from it.  The entire thing dimmed considerably as Nightingale took her hand away.  After a moment, it came back to where it originally was.

She knew what she had to do then. “Listen, this won’t be very pleasant for you.  If you want, you can leave.  I won’t be offended.”

Eagle took her undamaged hand. “I know what you’re wanting to do, and I’m not going anywhere.”

She squeezed his hand, looking into his eyes.  She marveled, again, at how incredible those eyes were.  She wanted to tell him.  She had to tell him. “I think you know how I feel about you.”

He squeezed her hand back. “I do.  I feel the same.”

Her heart started beating faster at that as she let go of his hand.  He felt the same.  Did he really?  Was it just some attempt to get her to not do what she knew needed to be done?

Or was it something else?  Was it real?  Did he love her as she loved him?

As she drew her sword, stepping up to the orb, she turned to him with a wink and smile. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

She thrust the sword into her chest, grunting.  It didn’t feel the same.  Something wasn’t right.  But, as her blood spilled on the orb, she heard it screaming in agony again.

Or was it her?  She felt the urge to keep going, so she thrust her sword in deeper, blood spurting everywhere.  It had to get on the orb, she knew that.

She climbed on, trying hard not to fall off, letting her body fall limply on top of it.

The sensation wasn’t the same.  It HURT.  Something was definitely wrong here, something horrible.

She turned to look at the man she loved, smiling as she did so, feeling her life ebbing out.

Just before the darkness took her, she felt it, that very familiar and welcoming sensation where she knew it wasn’t permanent.

Just as the darkness took hold.